The start of the trial in Oracle's lawsuit against Google over alleged Java copyright and patent violations in the Android mobile OS could be delayed, according to a judge's ruling issued Monday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

If a "second large criminal trial" does not begin as scheduled on Oct. 17, jury selection in the Oracle-Google matter will happen on Oct. 19, with the trial starting as planned on Oct. 31, Judge William Alsup said in the ruling. But if the criminal trial does move forward on schedule, it will require the postponement of Oracle vs. Google, he added.

It was not immediately clear which criminal case Alsup was referring to in Monday's order or how long the Android case's start would need to be postponed. The judge recently oversaw a major murder and racketeering trial involving the MS-13 street gang.

Oracle sued Google last year, claiming Android violated a series of patents and copyrights it holds on Java, control of which it acquired through the purchase of Sun Microsystems. Google has denied all wrongdoing.

The case could also be significantly delayed delayed if Alsup decides to stay the trial, pending a number of reexaminations of Oracle's patents by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. That process could take years.